Generate the Infotech export

Who does this: Payroll Executive · Payroll Lead When: A cycle has cleared validation and is in READY_FOR_EXPORTResult: An Infotech upload workbook is generated and downloadable from the cycle's Exports tab. The cycle moves to EXPORTED. An approval request is auto-emailed to the client's first active approver.

Generating the export is the bridge between client intake and the payroll-processing system. The platform takes everything in the cycle's submission, applies the client's active import template, and produces an .xlsx file shaped exactly the way Infotech expects to receive it. From there you upload it to Infotech, run payroll, and import the results back.

The Generate Export button is gated — it only shows when the cycle is genuinely ready. If you don't see it, see Why is the Generate Export button greyed out? for the common reasons.

Before you start

• [ ] Cycle is in READY_FOR_EXPORT status. (If it's in READY_FOR_INTERNAL_REVIEW, click Confirm Review on the cycle header first to advance it.)
• [ ] All BLOCKING issues are closed. The Issues tab badge is zero (or shows only WARNING-severity items, which don't block).
• [ ] The client has an active export template of kind UPLOAD. Confirm on the client detail → Templates tab.
• [ ] The client has an active approver if you want approval to auto-fire. (If not, the export still generates — you just get a warning toast and have to fire approval manually.)

TIP

Generate Export runs validation again automatically before producing the file. So even if the cycle has been sitting for a couple of days, you don't need to re-validate manually first — clicking the button does it for you, and falls back gracefully if anything has changed.

Steps

1. Open the cycle in the staff dashboard.
2. On the cycle header, click Generate Export. The button label flips to "Validating & generating…" while the platform works.
3. The platform runs validation, builds the Infotech workbook, and shows the Export preview dialog.
4. In the preview:
   • Look at the Row count — should match the cycle's total submission items.
   • Skim the first few rows for obvious errors (employee names, salary figures, change types).
   • Click Download to pull the .xlsx to your machine.
5. Close the preview.

The cycle's status badge now reads EXPORTED. The Exports tab shows the new export as v1 (or v2, v3 if you've regenerated).

NOTE

An approval request fires automatically within ~30 seconds of clicking Generate Export, going to the client's first active Can approve contact (alphabetical by name). You'll see a success toast confirming who it went to. If the client has no approver, the toast warns you and you'll need to fire approval manually after configuring one.

How to know it worked

• Cycle status flips from READY_FOR_EXPORT to EXPORTED.
• The Exports tab on the cycle shows a new row with version number, row count, and download link.
• The cycle's Activity log records cycle.exported and approval_report.generated events attributed to you, plus an approval.requested event when the auto-approval fires.
• Your Outbox shows an outbound row with template approval-request, status Dispatched within ~30 seconds. See Verify an email was sent.
• The cycle's Approvals tab shows a new approval round (#1 typically) with status Pending.

What the client sees

The first active Can approve contact gets an email:

• Subject: Payroll approval required for {cycle month} - Round {N}(N = the round number; this is normally 1 unless you've already had a revision cycle.)
• Body: brief framing, the client name and cycle month, plus a single CTA button: Review & approve.
• Link expiry: 48 hours. If it lapses, an automatic reminder fires after 48h; you can also use Request approval on the cycle to mint a fresh link and re-send.

The link drops the approver onto the Spade approval report — a plain-language summary of the prepared payroll (per-employee net pay, totals, CPF figures). They can either approve or request a revision with a written reason.

Common situations

If you see…	It means…	What to do
Generate Export button isn't visible	Cycle isn't in a state that allows export, or one already exists	See Why is the Generate Export button greyed out?
Toast: "Can't export yet — N blocking issues need attention"	Validation re-ran and found new blockers	Click into the Issues tab; resolve the new ones. Validation runs every time you click Generate Export, so a stale cycle can pick up new failures
Toast: "Export generated" but no approval-toast detail	The client has no active Can approve contact configured	Open client → Contacts; add an approver. Then on the cycle, click Request approval to fire the email manually
Export preview opens with row count = 0	The submission is genuinely empty (a "No changes this month" zero-item cycle is allowed)	This is fine — the export is still produced and approval still fires. Confirm with the client this is expected
Approval-request email never arrives in the Outbox	Approval was skipped (no approver, or transient platform issue)	Check the cycle's Approvals tab — if no round is recorded, fire manually with the Request approval button
You need to regenerate the export after fixing something	The button is hidden because an export already exists	Open the Exports tab; the platform supports re-generating only via specific revision-cycle paths. For most cases, the right fix is to handle the change as a revision request — see SOP §6
Export downloads but Infotech rejects it on upload	Template mismatch — the active template doesn't match the Infotech version your processor uses	Talk to your Payroll Lead; the template needs an update on the client's Templates tab

Related runbooks

• Resolve a blocking validation issue — when validation fails on click
• Override a blocking issue — when a rule needs to be bypassed
• Why is the Generate Export button greyed out?
• Verify an email was sent — confirm the approval request landed
• Finalize and close a cycle — what happens after the client approves
• Notifications catalog — full email reference
• Payroll cycle status machine — visualizing the cycle's lifecycle